Kamran Akmal dropped by Pakistan for second Test

Pakistan are to drop wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal from their side for the second Test against England, starting at Edgbaston on Friday, Salman Butt said.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Birmingham:

Pakistan are to drop wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal from their side for the second Test against England, starting at Edgbaston on Friday, team captain Salman Butt said.

And there is set to be no place in the side for late call-up Mohammad Yousuf after the batsman, who only arrived in England on Thursday, missed the team's final training session.

Now Pakistan are set to give a Test debut to 24-year-old wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider, with the only other change to the team that lost the first of a four-Test series by a huge 354 runs at Trent Bridge last week the recall of Saeed Ajmal.

"We have made two changes in the side," said Butt.

"Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria have been dropped and their places have been taken by Zulqarnain Haider and Saeed Ajmal. There will be no Mohammad Yousuf in the team," Butt added.

Off-spinner Ajmal is in line to take the place of leg-spinner Kaneria, released back to English county side Essex after his one wicket at Trent Bridge cost an expensive 171 runs.

Former captain Yousuf was only called up into the squad hours after Pakistan lost at Trent Bridge, having been bowled out for 80 -- their lowest ever total against England --- and after arriving in Birmingham on Thursday, took no part in the team's training session that day.

Akmal's position came under severe scrutiny after a poor display in the first Test where he scored no runs in either innings and endured a nightmare match with the gloves.

He missed several chances, being too far back when Eoin Morgan, on five edged behind before going on to make 130 -- the former Ireland left-hander's maiden Test century.

He also reprieved Paul Collingwood, with whom Morgan shared a decisive first innings stand of 219, twice in the match.

In the first innings, he missed a stumping chance when Collingwood was on 48 and in the second dropped him first ball. That fumble came just a ball after Akmal's lone bright moment of the game, a brilliant one-handed catch to dismiss Kevin Pietersen.

In the past Akmal's batting -- he has six hundreds from 51 Tests -- has meant he has retained his place in spite of poor glovework.

Akmal had a desperately dire Test against Australia at Sydney in January, three times reprieving Michael Hussey off Kaneria as Australia, 207 runs behind on first innings, ended up winning a match that became the subject of an investigation by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit.

Akmal errors have become a common feature of recent Pakistan displays and it appears that selectors have now lost patience with the 28-year-old.

Zulqarnain, whose only full international appearance came in a Twenty20 match against South Africa in Johannesburg three years ago, was a member of the Pakistan side that beat the West Indies in the final of the Under-19 World Cup back in 2004.